We are starting to raise money for the surgery of Dima Strelnikov who has a severe form of heart disease. Below we placed the story of how his parents struggle to save the life of their child and account details for those who are willing to help them in their misfortune:

"Dima Strelnikov was born on October, 17th, 2007 at about 8 pm and at the same night, as he turned blue and heart murmurs were heard, he was transferred to the intensive care unit of the Children's Hospital. We spent about two and a half weeks there. The exact diagnosis wasn't established and we were sent to Amosov National Institute for Cardiovascular Surgery in Kyiv. There an echocardiogram was performed, a diagnosis was established, not exact one as it turned out later, and the child was sent home. We were told that his condition was stable and nothing was wrong and that we had to come in half a year.

Six months later catheterization was performed and then we were told that our child's condition was very serious. Doctors also said that one more catheterization was needed and they would try to open up the narrowed pulmonary artery using an inflated balloon and remove the septum (which usually grows together by the time a child turns twelve months) in order to improve the blood circulation. But they only managed to remove the septum. We were informed that the child's condition was critical, the heart defect was really complicated and a complex radical surgery was required. However they couldn't perform it because the child was too young and the chances to go through it would be faint. Doctors said that this surgery could be performed in at least 3 years or better still in 5 years, and we were sent back home. Before we left, the doctor in charge came to us and said that with our diagnosis the child may hardly live one year, let alone three, and that we should knock on all doors and try to go abroad.

With the help of our acquaintances we went to Moscow. There Dima underwent a full medical examination and we were told that his condition was really very serious, a very complex surgery was needed, but the child was too young to have it. So we were offered another surgery which could help gain some more time and give the child a chance to develop normally. We agreed. Such surgery cost $ 10,000 and this price was for the surgery only, not including the costs of the dwelling, treatment and hospital admission. The surgery consisted in applying an anastomosis which is an artificial connection placed between the vessels for better circulation of blood, anastomosis is intended for a year. That was why in six months we came back to have an examination and in six more months – to have the surgery. For a week Dima had been examined, doctors had been holding meetings and finally reached the decision that the child wasn't fit for the radical surgery. So one more adjunctive surgery was performed (the same as the previous one). When we were being discharged from hospital, the doctor unofficially told us that a very complicated surgery was ahead of us and there was no point in performing adjunctive surgeries any more as there was no time to be wasted. He also said that the risk was too high and having gone such a long way we shouldn't give up, but instead we should try to go abroad. He advised us to go to Berlin clinic in Germany. We contacted a doctor from this clinic and he gave us hope by saying that they performed such surgeries successfully.

The surgery costs € 60,000. We don't have this much money, that's why we are turning to people for help. Little Dima is a very cheerful child, at such young age he has lived through so many things and endured so much that we have no right to give up and tempt the fate, we will fight to the end. We believe that by the grace of God and with people's compassion, everything will work out well and our child will live long and happily".

Sometimes optimism and faith in better things can conquer the harsh reality. We are referring to a great joy for our Foundation and a real miracle for the Strelnikov family. German doctors saved the life of little Dima Strelnikov and helped regain his health. Unfortunately the level of medicine in Ukraine not only did not allow to cure the boy but also condemned him to death. Only owing to the efforts of a great number of people from different countries of the world, now, after the surgery, Dima has a completely healthy heart.

But let's relate the facts as they actually happened. When Dima's parents had turned to us for help we realized that there were almost no chances to raise such an enormous amount of money for the surgery – about 60,000 euro – in Ukraine. That was why we focused our efforts on the search for European charity foundations which would be interested in the history of Strelnikovs' struggle for the life of their child. We found such a foundation in Great Britain, it's called Children's Hearts and it helps children with serious cardiac pathologies. After negotiating and checking all the documents, the Foundation allocated half of the necessary amount of money for surgery and found a number of charitable organizations in Germany which agreed to allocate some money, too. There was still one thing that needed to be done. It was necessary to collect a small amount of money to conduct the surgery. We asked the Chernivtsi City Charitable Foundation Charity for financial support. Dima was included in the list of children who were given financial assistance based on the results of the municipal charity ball organized by the Chernivtsi City Council together with the Foundation Charity. Money collected after the charity ball and the funds transferred to the bank account of Dima's parents covered the cost of the surgery.

In May 2012 in the German Heart Institute Berlin, Dima successfully underwent a complicated hours-long heart surgery. German doctors performed a miracle and entirely cured Dima's congenital heart defect. Not only was the little boy's life saved, he also became a healthy child! After the rehabilitation course under the supervision of doctors in Germany, Dima returned home with his parents.

We'd like to express our gratitude to all the people who were directly or indirectly involved in saving little Dima Strelnikov and showed a successful example of how consolidated efforts can save a human life which is so important to all of us!